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We've improved Slashdot's video section; now you can view our video interviews, product close-ups and site visits with all the usual Slashdot options to comment, share, etc. No more walled garden! It's a work in progress -- we hope you'll check it out (Learn more about the recent updates).

An anonymous reader writes "A Russian developer has hacked Apple's In-App Purchase program for iOS, allowing users to circumvent the payment process. This means you can purchase in-app content without actually paying. Most importantly, jailbreaking your device is not required."

Dan East (318230) writes "Mark Zuckerberg, billionaire founder of Facebook, has decided to share some of his wealth with dedicated FB users, who were ultimately responsible for his fortune. Each time you enter the following key presses into Facebook (max once per hour) you will receive a $5 credit on your FB account (part of the advertising system):UP UP DOWN DOWN LEFT RIGHT LEFT RIGHT B A ENTERPlease repost — it is for TODAY only!"Link to Original Source

An anonymous reader writes "If the US plans to develop wind farms across the country they need a better way to predict the wind direction and the duration. NCAR (National Center for Atmospheric Research) is looking to do just that. In December, NCAR signed an agreement with Xcel Energy to develop a wind prediction system for the company's wind energy farms in Colorado, Minnesota, and Texas. Experimental forecasts may start as early as May. At present, most wind forecasts rely heavily on statistical forecasting methods, since the numerical weather forecast products available from operational centers are produced with coarse-grid, larger-scale models. The RTFDDA system, however, is designed to provide a birds-eye view of local weather for small areas of special interest, like wind farms, through a multiple level downscaling algorithm." I hope that decentralized weather-data gathering stations (like many people have feeding data to The Weather Underground) would be useful for this purpose.

I read the 9/11 comission report and don't remember seeing anything about other teams.

Now I wish I knew where my copy was...I remember the minute by minute accounts of what took place in terms of the different responding agencies (NYPD, FDNY and Port Authority) being really interesting reading.

knapper_tech writes "The scope of the auto industry troubles continues to increase in magnitude. The call to retool and develop new vehicles has been made several times already, but with all of the challenges from labor prices and foreign competition, how exactly can the industry retool itself to be more competitive? In light of superior competition facing losses, there doesn't seem to be enough room in the industry moving forward. In the context of finding a new place in the auto industry, the future isn't bright. Calls for no disorderly collapse of the cash-strapped big three and a reluctant congress can only point to an underlying lack of direction. However, consider two other standing economic challenges. The airlines have continued to struggle due to fuel prices and heightened security. Consumers backed off of SUV's due to high fuel prices, and while those prices have eased in the face of global recession, the trend will pick up again with growth in China and India leading the fight for resources. In short, things are moving less, and the industries that support the movement are in need of developing new products while consumers are in need of a cheaper method of transportation."
Read on for the rest of knapper_tech's thoughts.